Hezbollah Supporter Sanctioned By US Treasury
WASHINGTON — For the first time since the passage of a law targeting money flowing to Hezbollah, a financier of the terrorist organization and his company have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department.
All U.S.-based assets of Ali Youssef Charara and Spectrum Investment Group Holding SAL, a telecommunications company Charara chairs, were frozen as of Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury reported. Charara, according to the Treasury, received millions of dollars from the Lebanon-based Hezbollah to invest in commercial projects that financially benefit the group.
The Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 was passed last month.
Charara also has worked on oil ventures in Iraq with Hezbollah member Adham Tabaja and Hezbollah financial supporter Kassem Hejeij, both of whom were sanctioned last year by the Treasury.
“Hezbollah relies upon accomplices in the business community to place, manage and launder its terrorist funds,” Adam Szubin, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “We are committed to exposing and disrupting these networks to pressure Hezbollah’s finances and degrade its ability to foment violence in Lebanon, Syria and across the region.”
Since October 2001, Hezbollah has been declared a “specially designated global terrorist” by the U.S. State Department.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.